Ink train cartridge

ABSTRACT

A cartridge for use in a printing press which allows the inking rollers to be cleaned or replaced without disassembling the press. The cartridge comprises an ink fountain and a train of rollers ending in a pair of form rollers, all of which are contained in a cartridge housing that can be inserted into a printing press and removed therefrom.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,714,500 5/1929 Ely 197/193 2,358,284 9/1944 Davidson et a1. 101/217 X2,583,639 l/l952 Faeber etal. 101/352 3,223,028 12/1965 Brigham 101/218X 3,229,631 l/l966 Peterson 101/352 X Primary ExaminerJ. Reed FisherAttorney-Lindenberg, Freilich & Wasserman ABSTRACT: A cartridge for usein a printing press which a1- lows the inking rollers to be cleaned orreplaced without disassembling the press. The cartridge comprises an inkfountain and a train of rollers ending in a pair of form rollers, all ofwhich are contained in a cartridge housing that can be inserted into aprinting press and removed therefrom.

Patented Aug. 24, 1971 3,601,049

4 Sheets-Shoot 1 INVENTOR. Wes; EY 1). HflM/L 70A] L atented Aug. 24,1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVIiN'I'OR. WESLE Y D. H QM LTOAI [.f

Patented Aug. 24, 1971 3,601,049

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR eszzy .D. Hal-71,1 rm! WLe/ZM INK TRAINCARTRIDGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thisinvention relates to printing presses and copy apparatus.

2. Description of the Prior Art A common type of printing press usescylindrical printing plates thatpress against paper to print on it. lnkcontained in a trough or ink fountain moves along a path that includesseveral rolls, and onto the printing cylinder which holds a printingplate. The path typically includes a fountain or doctor roll that picksup ink from the fountain, a ductor roll, a set of smoothing rolls, avibrator roll, one or more form rolls, and the printing cylinder, theserolls and the printing cylinder being arranged in series. The purpose ofthe train of rolls is to pick up ink at a predetermined rate from thefountain, and to spread and distribute it in a uniform thin film overthe printing plate.

The conventional arrangement, found for example in offsetlithographicpresses, is messy in the handling of the ink and requiresfrequent cleaning of the rollers to counteract the effects of drying andfilming of the ink. Thus, it has been necessary for a skilled pressoperator to partially disassemble the press and clean the rollers everytime a plate is changed, every time the ink'is changed, and every timeoperation-of the press is halted for a few hours.

In one prior art example, described in US. Pat. No. 3,025,793 byVischulis entitled Method and Apparatus for Changing Inks in PrintingPress Fountains, a cleaning method is used which employs apparatus forquickly draining the ink fountain and admitting a cleaning solvent, andan ultrasonic vibrator for breaking up the remaining film on therollers. Such methods still require considerable efforts, equipment andtime.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present inventionis to provide printing press apparatus which enables cleaning of theink-distributing apparatus without requiring appreciable press downtime.

Another object is to provide printing press apparatus that enables achange of ink color to be made rapidly and with a minumum of effort. i

In accordance with the present invention, printing press apparatus isprovided which facilitates storage and cleaning of the ink-distributingapparatus and enables a rapid change of ink colors. The apparatusincludes an ink cartridge with inkdistributing rolls, which can beinserted as a unit into a printing press to supply a uniform thin filmof ink to the printing plate. When the press is to be stopped forseveral hours or more, the cartridge can be removed and stored in anairtight container to reduce drying of the ink, the cartridge beingsmall enough for easy handling and storage. When another ink color is tobe used, the cartridge is removed and replaced with another cartridgethat includes the desiredcolor of ink and another set of distributingrolls. There placement can be accomplished quickly, and without cleaningthe press (if the printing p'lateis changed) or the cartridge. The novelfeatures of the invention are set forth with particularity in theappended claims. The invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of aprinting press cartridge and printing press constructed in accordancewith the invention,

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken on the line 3-3'of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial side elevation view of the cartridge taken on theline 4-4 of FIG. 3; 1

FIG. 5 is a partial side elevation view of the cartridge and printingpress of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cartridge of FIG. 1 in an airtightcontainer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, theprinting apparatus comprises a copier or press 10 and an ink cartridge12 for supplying ink to the press. The press has print cylinder meanscomprising a printing cylinder 14 that holds printing plate means suchas a curved plate with raised type or a flexible sheet with hydrophilicand hydrophobic portions. The plate means on the printing cylinder 14receives ink and applies it either directly or through a transfer rollerto paper or other printing medium 15 that is fed thereto by a feedmechanism 17. The printing cylinder and the apparatus for moving paperthrough the press to receive ink from it are well known in the art, andtherefore will not be described in detail.

FIG. 2 shows the ink cartridge 12 within the press. The cartridgeincludes an ink reservoir or fountain 16 in its upper portion, whichholds a supply of ink. A doctor or fountain roll 18 moves in an openingin the fountain to draw off ink. An adjustable doctor blade 22 enablesregulation of the amount of ink drawn from the fountain. A ductor rollpicks up ink from the fountain roll and applies it to a primarysmoothing roll 26 which applies it to two secondary smoothing rolls 28,30. The smoothing rolls 28, 30 apply the ink to a vibrator roll 32 thatoscillates a limited distance along its axis, and the vibrator rollapplies the ink to a pair of form rolls 34, 36. The form rolls, whichare positioned in the lower portion of the cartridge housing, are incontact with the plate 38 on the plate cylinder 14, and they apply afilm of ink to the plate. As will be described below, the vibrator roll32 is driven by a motor in the press, and it, in turn, drives thevarious other rolls in the cartridge.

The purpose of the train of rolls is to spread and distribute ink pickedup from the fountain, in order to apply it in a uniform thin film to theink-receiving portions of the plate. The form rolls 34, 36 serve as thefinal roll means that transfers ink to the printing plate means, whilethe other rolls serve as intermediate rolls that apply ink from thefountain to the final roll means. In accordance with the invention, thetrain of rolls leading from the ink fountain to the plate cylinder arecontained in a single cartridge that can be inserted into a slot 40provided in the press, in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The cartridgeframe or housing 42 completely encloses the roll train, except for anopening 44 at the bottom of the cartridge housing. The cartridge isinserted all the way into the slot 40 and upon actuation of form rollcontrols, to be described below, the form rolls 34, 36 are made to lieagainst the printing cylinder 14 to transfer ink to portions of theplate thereon. A pair of runners 46 which are mounted on either end ofthe cartridge housing, are received in guides 48 at the endsof slot 40to facilitate movement of the cartridge into and out of slot 40. A pairof handles 50, 52 are mounted on the top ofthe cartridge housing tofacilitate lifting and lowering of the cartridge- 12 in slot 40.

For effective operation, every other inking roll must be positivelydriven. To accomplish this, a transmission member 54, shown in FIG. 3,is mounted on a shaft 56 that extends through the vibrator roll 32. Thetransmission member drives the rolls 32, 26 and 18 in the cartridgethrough a set of gears on the roll shafts. In order to receive powerfrom the press, several holes 58 are provided in the face of thetransmission member that can be engaged by spring plungers 60 on a driveplate 62. The drive plate 62, which is always retained within the press,is connected to a shaft 64 that is driven by the press motor (notshown).

. Each of the holes 58 in the transmission member 54 is conical, so thatthe sidewalls of the holes are oriented at an angle to the direction ofmovement of plungers 60 by their springs 61. The force of plungersprings 61 and the angle of the conical holes 58 is chosen so that therequired operating torque can be transmitted without causing the plungerto move out of the holes. However, if the cartridge 12 is pulled out ofthe slot 40 with a large force, the plungers will be moved inwardly todisengage from the holes 58. Similarly, in installing the cartridge, itcan be pushed down hard enough for the plungers to ride over a bevelededge 55 of the transmission member 54, and the plungers can thereafterfall into the holes 58. The location of transmission member 54 on theexterior of the cartridge also enables engagement by a separate cleaningdevice (not shown) for power cleaning of the rollers within thecartridge.

The gear train that connects the transmission member 54 to the cartridgerolls includes a gear 66 fixed to the transmission member, and idlergear 68 rotatably mounted on the cartridge housing, and a smoothing rollgear 70 fixed to the same shaft 72 as the primary smoothing roll 26. Apinion 74 fixed to the opposite end of the shaft 72, drives anotheridler gear 76, which is fixed to a pinion 78 that drives a gear 80 on ashaft 82 of the fountain roll 18. Thus, every other roll is positivelydriven, namely the rolls 32, 26 and 18. The rolls 24, 28 and 30 inbetween them are driven by contact of their roll surfaces with thesurfaces of adjacent driven rolls.

The vibrator roll 32 'is not fixed to the shaft 56, but is mounted on itby a pair of bushings, 83, 84. A pin 86 fixed to the bushings passesthrough a slot 87 in the shaft 56 to couple the vibrator roll forrotation with the shaft 56 while allowing axial oscillations of theroll. An oscillator shaft 88 engaged with the pin 86 can be oscillatedto oscillate the pin and roll 32. A spring biases the oscillator shafttoward an outward position. A cam wheel 90 mounted on the press can pushthe oscillator shaft in and allow it to move out to oscillate thevibrator roll. The cam wheel 90 is rotatably driven by the press motor.

The driven rolls 18, 26 and 32 are fixed in position. However, the otherrolls 24, 28, 30, 34 and 36 are mounted for movement toward and awayfrom the driven rolls to assure proper contact pressure on the rollsurfaces. As shown in FIG. 4, the ductor roll 24 is rotatably mounted ona lever 94 that is pivotally mounted at 96 on the cartridge housing. Aspring 98 biases the lever 94 upwardly, to urge the ductor roll 24against the fountain roll 18. Additional mechanisms, to be described,urge the secondary smoothing rolls 28, 30 into contact with the primarysmoothing roll 26 and the vibrator roll 32, and urge the form rolls 34,36 into contact with the vibrator roll and print cylinder means.

A press operator can install the ink cartridge 12 in the press 10, bymerely lowering it through the slot 40. During such lowering, theoscillator shaft 88 moves in until it is engaged with the cam wheel 90.The beveled edge 55 is on the transmission member 54 pushes in theplungers 60 until they can enter the holes 58 to engage the transmissionwheel. When the cartridge is in place, the form rolls 34, 36 lieadjacent to the plate on the printing cylinder, and the form rolls canbe moved together slightly to bear against the printing plate. Thecartridge housing is supported, as shown in FIG. 4 by aligning buttons92 fixed to the press that engage the comers of the cartridge housing.After the cartridge is thus inserted, and the secondary smoothing rolls28, 30 and form rolls 34, 36 are moved together a small distance, theprinting press can be started, to print a color determined by the inkcartridge.

To change cartridges the operator merely pulls the cartridge out ofengagement with the press using the handles 50, 52 and lowers a newcartridge into its place. If desired. the printing plate 38 on the platecylinder 14 maybe changed while there is no ink cartridge in the press.The removed ink cartridge may be stored by placing it in'anairtightcontainer 13, as shown in I F IG 6. The ink in the fountain neednot be poured off prior to -such storage, inasmuch as the fountain iscovered by a top that the rolls will become deformed along the lineswhere they are in contact with each other. Evenness of roll surface isparticularly important in the case of the last rolls of the train,

which must form a uniformly thin film of ink. FIG. 5 illustrates detailsof the press and cartridge apparatus for bringing the rolls togetherprior to use. This figure shows a side of the cartridge 12 opposite theside shown in FIG. 4, and members on the press that interact with it. i

The secondary smoothing rolls 30, 28 are engaged with levers 110, 112which are pivotally mounted on the press housing at 114 and 116. Thelevers 1 10, 112 can be pivoted to move the secondary smoothing rollstight against the rolls 26 and 32 for use. When the cartridge. is not inthe press, the secondary smoothing rolls can move apart to bear withlittle, if any, pressure against the rolls 26, 32. In a similar manner,the form rolls 36, 34 are engaged with levers 118, that are pivotallymounted on the press housing at 122 and 124, to permit movement of theform rolls tight against the roll 32 for cartridge use or away from itfor storage.

A camshaft 126 which extends from the press housing into the cartridgereceiving slot 40 is provided, which carries two cams 128, 130 at itsend to enable rapid movement of all four rolls 28, 30, 34, 36 into theuse position. Another cam shaft, similar to shaft 126, and connected torotate with it is provided at the opposite end of the cartridge slot tooperate cams and other mechanisms at the other end of the cartridge slotwhich are similar to those illustrated in FIG. 5, so that both ends ofthe four rolls are moved simultaneously together and apart. When the camshaft 126 is in the position shown in FIG. 5, cam 130 presses down a camfollower 132 to cause the secondary smoothing rolls 28, 30 to assume theuse position of the figure. The cam follower 132 is pivotally mounted at122 and 124 on the press. The opposite ends of the levers 134, 136 arepivotally joined to nuts 138, 140 threadably engaged with the lower endsof tie rods or screws 142, 144. The upper ends of the screws 142, 144carry rotatably mounted bushings 146, 148 that are pivotally joined tothe ends of levers 110, 112 which carry the secondary smoothing rolls30, 28. Downward force of cam 130 on follower 132 causes rolls 28, 30 tomove towards each other to the use position. Rotation of cam 130 to aposition wherein it no longer pushes down on follower 132 allows rolls28, 30 to move apart until there is substantially no contact pressurebetween them and rolls 26 and 32.

The other cam 128 regulates the pressure of the form rolls 34, 36 on thevibrator roll 32 and the print cylinder 14. When the cam shaft 126 is inthe position shown in the figure, the cam 128 pushes outwardly on twocam followers 150, 152. Cam follower 150 is mounted on one end of alever 154 that is pivotally mounted at 122 on the press. The otherendofthe lever 154 is pivotally coupled to a bushing 156 which is rotatablycoupled to one end of a screw 158. The other end of the screw 158carries a nut 160 that is pivotally coupled to the lever 120 whichsupports the form roll 34 at its opposite end. When the cam 128 pushesout the follower 150, this causes the form roll 34 to move in tightagainst the vibrator roll'32 and print cylinder 14, which is the useposition. The other cam follower 152 that is operated by the cam 128, issimilarly coupled to a lever 162 and screw 164 with a bushing 166 andnut 168 thereon, to the lever 118 on which the other form roll 36 ismounted.

Thus, when the shaft 126 is turned to the position shown in FIG. 5, thesmoothing and form rolls 28, 30, 34, 36 are moved to the use position.However, a rotation of about 90 allows the cams 128, 130 to stoppressing out the cam followers 132, 150, 152 to thereby allow the formrolls and secondary smoothing rolls to move outwardly until they do notpress against-the other rolls in the cartridge and the print cylinder.The level of force of the rolls 28, 30 on the fixed rolls 26, 32-

can be changed by turning the screws 144, 142, respectively, to'vary theposition of the nuts 140, 138 thereon. In a similar manner, the force ofthe form rolls 34, 36 can be varied by turning the screws 158, and 164,respectively, to vary the positions of nuts 160 and 168 thereon. Itshould be understood that similar sets of screws on the press at theopposite end of the cartridge-receiving slot also must be turned tomaintain alignment of the rolls in their use position.

When the cartridge is pulled out of the housing, the secondary smoothingrolls and fonn rolls generally move apart slightly, although there is apossibility they may stick in a position where they bear against theprimary smoothing and vibrator rolls. To assure that the secondarysmoothing rolls and form rolls move apart, a pair of tracks 180 and 182are pro-- vided in the press housing. The tracks are positioned so thatthey engage the rolls as the cartridge is being pulled out of the press,to move the rolls apart. The tracks also serve to move the rollstogether to a predetermined spacing when the cartridge is lowered intothe press.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variationsmay readily occur to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it isintended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications andequivalents.

. lCLAlM:

1. An ink cartridge for mounting in a printing machine having a printcylinder means comprising:

. d a cartridge housing for reception in said printing machine;

anink fountain disposed in said cartridge housing;

a plurality of rolls rotatably mounted within said cartridge housing formovement into and out of said press with said cartridge housing,including a form roll for transferring ink to said print cylinder means,said plurality of rolls defining an ink path extending from saidfountain to said form roll,

a transmission wheel with a beveled edge and a plurality of holes,mounted on the outside of said housing, for receiving driving forcesfrom said press;

means for coupling said transmission wheel to at least one of said rollswithin said housing; and

a printing machine including a slot for receiving said cartridge housingand a drive member including a plurality of plungers biased toward theposition occupied by said transmission wheel when it is within saidslot.

2. Printing apparatus comprising: k

aprinting press with print cylinder means, said press having a presshousing with walls defining a cartridge-receiving slot;

a cartridge housing for reception in said cartridge-receiving slot ofsaid printing press housing;

an ink fountain disposed in said cartridge housing;

a plurality of rolls rotatably mounted within said cartridge housing formovement into and out of said press with said cartridge housing,including a form roll for transferring ink to said print cylinder means,said plurality of rolls defining an inkpath extending from said fountainto said form roll;

said plurality of rolls including first and second rolls normally incontact with each other and a third roll normally in contact with saidsecond roll, for ink transfer from said first roll to said second rolland then to said third roll; and

means mounted on said press for moving said second roll between firstand second positions wherein it is substantially in contact and out ofcontact with said first and third rolls, as said cartridge is moved intoand withdrawn from said cartridge-receiving slot, respectively.

3. Copy apparatus comprising:

a copy machine including means for moving a printing medium and printingplate means defining type areas for receiving ink to be transferred tosaid printing medium; and

a cartridge for mounting on and removal from said copy machine saidcartridge including a.housing, fountain means disposed in sai housingfor holding a supply of ink, final roll means disposed in said housingfor applying ink to said printingplate means when said cartridge ismounted on said copy machine, and a plurality of inter--

1. An ink cartridge for mounting in a printing machine having a printcylinder means comprising: a cartridge housing for reception in saidprinting machine; an ink fountain disposed in said cartridge housing; aplurality of rolls rotatably mounted within said cartridge housing formovement into and out of said press with said cartridge housing,including a form roll for transferring ink to said print cylinder means,said plurality of rolls defining an ink path extending from saidfountain to said form roll; a transmission wheel with a beveled edge anda plurality of holes, mounted on the outside of said housing, forreceiving driving forces from said press; means for coupling saidtransmission wheel to at least one of said rolls within said housing;and a printing machine including a slot for receiving said cartridgehousing and a drive member including a plurality of plungers biasedtoward the position occupied by said transmission wheel when it iswithin said slot.
 2. Printing apparatus comprising: a printing presswith print cylinder means, said press haVing a press housing with wallsdefining a cartridge-receiving slot; a cartridge housing for receptionin said cartridge-receiving slot of said printing press housing; an inkfountain disposed in said cartridge housing; a plurality of rollsrotatably mounted within said cartridge housing for movement into andout of said press with said cartridge housing, including a form roll fortransferring ink to said print cylinder means, said plurality of rollsdefining an ink path extending from said fountain to said form roll;said plurality of rolls including first and second rolls normally incontact with each other and a third roll normally in contact with saidsecond roll, for ink transfer from said first roll to said second rolland then to said third roll; and means mounted on said press for movingsaid second roll between first and second positions wherein it issubstantially in contact and out of contact with said first and thirdrolls, as said cartridge is moved into and withdrawn from saidcartridge-receiving slot, respectively.
 3. Copy apparatus comprising: acopy machine including means for moving a printing medium and printingplate means defining type areas for receiving ink to be transferred tosaid printing medium; and a cartridge for mounting on and removal fromsaid copy machine, said cartridge including a housing, fountain meansdisposed in said housing for holding a supply of ink, final roll meansdisposed in said housing for applying ink to said printing plate meanswhen said cartridge is mounted on said copy machine, and a plurality ofintermediate rolls disposed within said housing for applying ink fromsaid fountain means to said final roll means; said final roll meansincluding a pair of form rolls mounted on said cartridge housing formovement toward and away from each other, and having end portionsprojecting from said housing; and said copy machine includes members forreceiving said end portions of said form rolls when said cartridge ismounted on said copy machine, and means for moving said members towardsand away from each other.